Armored gasket for pipe repair clamp and the like



T. L. SMITH Jan. 1, 1957 ARMORED GASKET FOR PIPE REPAIR CLAMP AND THE LIKE Original Filed Jan. 26, 1948 TEL/ORD L5M/Th' III( IN V EN TOR.

BWM

Arrok/vsy United States Patente@ "ice ANDtrHnrLIKE i.

Telford L. jsmith, soufhfsanrrncisa, Calif...

Original applicationllauary26;-1948f3erial No.v, 4,317,

now Patent Noiif2,690193`,5 datedf.September- 28,L 1954.1.. Dividedlandtliis` `:application vMarch;` :14, f 1954-,11Serial1z No. 414iz1z..

6 claims;A e (Clszssizyjp This-.invention rela-testo aniimproved gasketfon use in pipe '.repairrclamps iandntheflike. .e Thisxapplicatiomis 'a division. 'of'.` zapplicationrS. .N. 4,3171, tiled:Ianuany26,w1948; y

parts of soil pipe= may ;be inexpensively. repaired.` I.

One Vof theproblems.` solved by.the-.zpresentiirivention arises :because theV meeting. ends of pipe clamp'fsleeves or.y .f

bands .tend tou-dig, in Lto :the-gasket.::;As"the` metal. digs Sintoi` .n

the'gasketpit tends-to destroy thei'gasketrortofdamageait i invention solves this .problem 'by providing. an iarmored gasket, -that' is, a rubbergasketmember .providedfwith a longitudinalrecess in whicha strip ofmalleablemetal is `soseverely fthat it cannot beisafely .usedt-f;.The'zpresent.1

backface .of the. gaskenrand: it doesnot interfere at 'all with ,the fronty afaee vof the. gasket. which seals` 'aroundf l'theii pipe. The armored strip on the backside.adequatelyfproatects the rubber from the pinching or biting or chewing action of the clamps v i Another problemsolved by the present-'invention isthat of obtaining: a tight seal around the pipe. This has been accomplished. partly by providing a grid work ion.. the faceof the gasket against the' pipe .and `by tapering the.

ends of the gasket so that two gasket halves or two ends. of'one gasket can be` joined together with overlapand. without changing thenet thickness of thelgasket. Toths.

structure, thepresent invention adds the armoringjs'trip` whichserves to distribute the clamp pressure evenlyabout. thefusually"troublesome area near where the clampends.

meet;

Other objects and advantages off the invention wil-l appear from the following description of a preferred embodiment thereof.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a view in perspective showing a resilient gasket embodying the principles of my invention and incorporating a protecting guard strip of malleable metal, the gasket being shown cemented into a pipe clamp section.

Fig. 2 is a view in elevation and in section taken along the line 2--2 of Fig. 3 except for the cut-away of parts of Fig. 3 showing a complete clamp installed around a pipe and incorporating two gaskets like the one shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a View in section taken along the line 3--3 of Fig. 2, the gasket protecting means and the pipe being cut away in part in order to show a juncture of the clamp ends which might tend to chew into the gasket except for my novel armoring feature.

Fig. 4 is a top plan view of a somewhat modified form of the gasket.

2,776,153 Patented Jan. 1, 1957 Fig'. 5 is a bottom planfview-of the gasket-of Fig.'4; and

Fig. 6 is a viewin section taken along the linei6=-6 in Fig. 4. Y

Twonfor'msof'i the novel gasket ofmy invention areshown inthe drawings. `Each gasket 10`(Fig. 1) ork 11 (Figs.'4-5) is preferablyl'madeof treaded rubber-orrubV ber-'like material.Y Various tread patterns may be used; 2 but the one showniin Figs. 1 and 4 has been found to Ibe very -satisfactor'ynf It consists of a lattice work design with-pockets V112"`:lep'ressed below. the level of theribbed surface 13 which ffaces andseals against the pipe. The` rear face 14-of-thegasket 10. or 11 preferablyhas "la smooth surface, so that it is well adaptedto be cemented* into a pipe clamp-section-like-.the section22 shown'in thedrawingsf- Each gasket 10 is preferably tapered or ski-ved at itsendsilSs'o that whenthe gasket 10 is installed-f andthe ends 15 Eover-lap,- the overa-ll thickness at the overlapped portion 'will be substantially the sameas the thickness ofieither gasket 10, and thereby the entire thickness is substantiallyuniform. `Thesame thing is true of the4H taperedends l1650i thegasket 11.

In'the1-rearface-14 ofthe gasket 10`or11 a recess 17 is provided, preferably generally rectangular in shape, f

and in this recess 17 a strip 18 made from copper'or some othermetalmore *malleable than cast bronze is bonded.

madey from bronze 4or malleablef'iron; again, the strip -18 should be more malleable than themetal from which the lugs are made. Since theinstalled clamp willbel cylindrical, it is normallyfdesirable to have the armor strip 18 fbe somewhat curved along a small arc of a cylinder approximately corresponding to the sizeof the pipe forl which the gasket 1li-0r `11 is designed (see Figs. 1 and 6);

The .size of the strip 18 depends upon lthe size of pipe clamp used because it is desirable to have the strip 18 i large enough so that there can be no pinchingof the f gasket by theassembled clamp. Not only do the strips 18- keep the gasket 10`from being `chewed by the clamp20, but being malleable, they readily `conformvto the shape ofthe pipe `21 as the clamp 20 is tightened.-

The strip l18 is bonded to the gasket 10 or 11, as by vulcanizing it thereto or cementing it thereto, or by rs't cementing it and then vulcanizing it.

By way of example, a pipe repair clamp 20 has been illustrated to show the operation of the gasket 10. The

clamp 20 shownherein is the one claimed in applicationk Serial No; 4,317 tiled January v26, 1948, now U. S. Patent No;V 2,690,193, thougli'othervtypes may be` usedwith the"y same gasket 10 or 11. The clamp 20 comprises two half sections 22 with interlocking ngers 23 and receiving pockets 24. The lingers 2.3 extend out far enough so that when two sections 22 are placed together, the ngers 23 form a suitable guide as well as a fulcruming point for closing the clamp sections 22 about the pipe 21. A flange 25 also aids in this positioning and fulcruming the two sections together while they are being bolted together around the pipe. A plurality of lugs 26 on the outside of the clamp are provided with openings 27 large enough to receive bolts 28 loosely.

When the clamp section 22 comes from the factory, the gasket 10 (or 11) is normally cemented in place with the armored strip 18 adjacent Where the rows of lingers 23 and pockets 24 meet.

`One of these sections 22 with its gasket 10 and protecting strip 18 may be placed on one side of the pipe 21 and another identical section 22 may be placed on the other side of the pipe 21. The bolts 28 are then inserted through the openings 27 in the lugs 26, and nuts 29 may be threaded on to them and tightened. This action tightens the clamp 20 until it finally assumes approximately the position shown in Fig. 2.

As the bolts 28 and nuts 29 are tightened and the two sections 22 are compressed together, the gasket' 10 (or 11) is compressed against the pipe and, were it not for the armor strip 18, the ngers 23 would tend to dig into the gasket (or 11) and damage it, but the armor strip 18 prevents this and merely causes the gasket 10 or 11 to be further compressed against the pipe. lf the cylindrical arc of the strip 18 is not exactly that of the pipe 21, it will be conformed to it by this compressing action.

The armoring of the gasket thus preserves it and enables it to do a better sealing job, while the treading aids in the prevention of leakage from between the pipe 21 and the pipe clamp 20. The tapered ends and 16 also aid in the sealing action by preventing any bulges or voids from occurring at the gasket ends and enabling overlap, so that there is no butt end which might permit leakage.

,To those skilled in the art to which this invention relates, many changes in construction and widely differing embodiments and applications of the invention will suggest themselves without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. The disclosures and the description herein are purely illustrative and are not intended to be in any sense limiting.

I claim:

`1. A leak sealing gasket for disposition between a leakking pipe and a jointed clamp, comprising a rectangular sheet of yieldable material, the sheet having opposed joint forming skived edges; the sheet being provided with a recess in one face thereof of substantial width and extending substantially throughout the length thereof intermediate said skived edges and parallel thereto and a metallic wear strip disposed within said recess and bonded to the walls thereof, said wear strip having its outer face flush with the outer face of said sheet.

2. A leak sealing gasket for disposition between a leaking pipe and a jointed clamp, comprising a generally rectangular sheet of yieldable material, the sheet having opposed joint-forming tapered edges; the sheet having a treaded inner face adapted to lie against a pipe and an outer face of substantial width and having a recess extending throughout the length thereof intermediate said tapered edges and parallel thereto and an arcuate armor band of malleable metal disposed within and filling said recess and bonded to the walls thereof, said band having its outer face lush with the outer face of said sheet.

3. A cylindrical leak sealing gasket for disposition between a leaking pipe and a jointed clamp, comprising a s pair of semi-cylindrical elongated sheets of yieldable material, the sheets having diametrically opposed skived joint forming edges, the sheets being further provided with diametrically opposed relatively wide recesses in the outer faces thereof and extending throughout the lengths CII 4 thereof intermediate said skived edges, and a malleable metal strip disposed within and filling each said recess and bonded to the walls thereof, said strips having their outer faces flush with the outer faces of said sheets.

4. A cylindrical leak sealing gasket for disposition between an outer wall of a leaking pipe and an inner wall of a pipe-repair clamp, comprising at least one axially elongated sheet of yieldable material, having tapered edges at each end extending parallel to the widthwise axis of the gasket, the sheet being further provided with a relatively wide recess in the outer face thereof extending substantially throughout the lengths thereof intermediate said edges and generally parallel thereto and to the widthwise axis of the gasket, and an arcuate malleable metal armor strip disposed within said recess and bonded to the walls thereof, said wear strip having its outer face flush with the outer face of said sheet.

5. A cylindrical leak-sealing gasket for disposition in a longitudinally joined pipe clamp between the outer wall of a pipe and the inner wall of said clamp, comprising a longitudinally divided clamp lining sleeve of yieldable material having a pair of opposed joint forming edges, said sleeve being further provided with a relatively wide recess in its outer wall extending throughout the length thereof between said joint forming edges and parallel to the axis of said pipe clamp, and a malleable metal armor strip disposed within said recess and bonded to the wall thereof, said strip having its outer face flush with said sleeve.

6. A cylindrical leak-sealing gasket for disposition in a longitudinally joined pipe clamp between the outer wall of a pipe and the inner wall of said clamp, comprising a longitudinally divided clamp lining sleeve of yieldable material having a plurality of circumferentially spaced pairs of opposed joint forming edges, said sleeve being further provided with a relatively wide recess in its outer wall extending throughout the length thereof between each pair of said joint forming edges and parallel to the axis of said pipe clamp, and a metallic clamp joint engageable wear strip disposed within each said recess and bonded to the wall thereof, said wear strip having its outer face ush with said sleeve.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 629,315 Dorticus July 18, 1899 859,546 Davidson July 9, 1907 1,961,762 Hinderliter June 5, 1934 2,009,744 Pfetferle July 30, 1935 2,224,918 Merrill Dec. 17, 1940 2,375,869 Price May 15, 1945 2,473,046 Adams June 14, 1949 2,616,736 Smith Nov. 4, 1952 2,690,193 Smith Sept. 28, 1954 

